Tiv won’t concede an inch of land for grazing reserves, says Torkula

The Tiv are in no mood to concede an inch of their land for cattle grazing by the Fulani, the paramount ruler of the Tiv, Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula, has said.

The Tor Tiv, who has lost hundreds of his people, mainly farmers, to armed attacks by nomadic Fulani herdsmen, said those who are coveting Tiv land should be ready to kill all Tiv as they would not readily give up their land.

Dr. Torkula who doubles as Chairman of the Benue State Traditional Council spoke in his palace in Gboko when the Tiv Professional Group (TPG) paid him a visit.

He said that the Tiv had in the past given out part of their land for cattle grazing only for their magnanimity to be abused by the beneficiaries.

He said those who are now pressurising them to give out more of their land for grazing do not mean well for the Tiv many of whom are farmers.

He said many of his people have been killed by Fulani cattle breeders and that such breeders should be encouraged to acquire land for ranches and confine their cattle to such enclosures.

He said: “I will not concede one inch of Tivland for grazing reserves or grazing routes. My subjects are farmers and they need the land to farm. In modern times, and globally, those investing in cattle acquire land for ranches. They then source for food for their cattle. This solves a lot of conflicts.

“Farming is our occupation. We don’t even have enough land. Tiv lands in Taraba and Nasarawa are gradually being taken over. They still want us to give the little land we have left to farm for grazing. That is too much to ask. It is unacceptable.”

The Tor Tiv also said his ancestral home that was sacked and razed by Fulani herdsmen remains occupied by the heavily armed invaders.

“The corpses of our kiths and kin are decaying. No one can go and bury them because my ancestral home has been under Fulani occupation,” he said.

He asked the security agencies to help his people regain control of their villages so that they can resume their normal living.

The Tor Tiv also called for the resuscitation of the moribund Mzough U Tiv Association (MUT) to provide an avenue for all Tiv to share ideas and express themselves.

Speaking on behalf of the Tiv Professional Group Dr. Zachariah Gundu said they are in support of the Tor Tiv’s position on grazing reserves.

He said TPG is also against grazing reserves because it cannot be sustained.

The group condemned the sustained killings in Benue State and tasked the security agencies to contain the crisis so Tiv farmers can go back to their farms.